Verified Skilled Worker sponsor

Specialist Mental Health Practitioner

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Leeds, LS12 3QE £39,959 – £48,117 a year Permanent Posted 28 August 2026 Apply by 16 September 2026

Home Office register entry: Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds

Visa sponsorship

This role is listed by an employer that holds a live Home Office sponsor licence on the Skilled Worker route.

Closest occupation match: SOC 1231, Health care practice managers. Pay for this occupation is set by national pay scales (NHS bands), so no single Home Office going rate applies.

This occupation falls under the Health and Care Worker route. Public reference figures for that route: the general salary minimum is £25,000 a year, and salaries set by national pay scales (NHS bands) at or above the relevant band rate typically meet the occupation's requirement. Individual eligibility depends on personal circumstances. These figures are public reference information, not advice or a verdict on this job.

Role description

Job summary

The Locality Primary Care Mental Health Specialist will be linked to a locality community mental health team, whilst providing a peripatetic specialist mental health clinical role within defined GP practices to support service users with complex mental health issues as part of Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service.

The post holder will provide access to specialist mental health assessment, risk assessment, and brief intervention to prevent deterioration in mental health requiring a referral to secondary mental health services.

The post holder will also provide access to triage, assessment and decision support for primary care colleagues to ensure that service users with complex mental health needs access the correct pathway and intervention to meet their needs.

This will build upon Leeds vision for the development of a mental health framework for care in Leeds wrapping specialist mental health clinical knowledge and skills into primary and community settings.

We are hosting 2 online information sessions for you to find out more about the role, and ask any questions you may have, see below the details and links to join to sessions:

Friday the 4th of September at 11am -12pm (1hr)Click here to join the session!

Friday the 11th of September at 3pm -4pm (1hrClick here to join the session!

Main duties of the job

This is an exciting opportunity for a Mental Health Specialist to work within a fast-paced service, collaborating closely with GP colleagues and partner organisations across the voluntary sector and secondary care to support individuals aged 17 and over who present with unmet mental health needs.

The position offers hybrid working across GP surgeries, CMHT, community spaces and working from home.

This includes delivering face-to-face clinics within GP practices.

The successful candidate will be based in either South, East or West Leeds, depending on service need at the time of appointment.

There may also be occasions where citywide working is required to support safe service delivery, and the base location may change in line with operational needs.

Clinical duties.

Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments, including:

Risk assessment (self-harm, suicide, safeguarding)
Mental state examination
Psychosocial assessment
Develop and implement care plans with service users.

Deliver brief psychological interventions and psychoeducation

Act as a link between primary care and secondary mental health services.

Triage referrals from GPs and other professionals.

Signpost or refer patients to:
NHS Talking Therapies
Community services
Crisis teams
Social prescribing
Voluntary sector organisations
Liaise regularly with GPs, psychiatrists, social workers, and multidisciplinary teams

Please refer to Job Description for full details.

About us

The Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Leeds. We also provide specialist inpatient services in York and some highly specialised services across the country. As a teaching trust with strong links to local universities, we are a centre of excellence for teaching, research and development.

There are many benefits of working for LYPFT including fantastic employee wellbeing support, 27 - 33 days annual leave, flexible working and remote working arrangements, the NHS Pension Scheme, coaching, support and opportunities for career development and training and education support alongside a range of exclusive discounts and payment schemes including for cars, extra leave days and more NHS Discount Offers.

We also have a bank department, offering variety of roles in nursing, allied health professions, healthcare support worker and administration clerical. Permanent employees are automatically added to bank.

Applicants should be aware that individuals requiring a visa to work in the UK, the Trust only provides sponsorship for registered healthcare practitioner roles(this does not include Healthcare Support Workers). This is an essential requirement, and the Trust is unable to offer you a role if you do not meet Trust requirements for sponsorship and Home Office requirements for a visa.

Date posted

28 August 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£39,959 to £48,117 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

173-20426-COMM-B

Job locations

St Marys Hospital

Leeds

LS12 3QE

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

We recruit people based on their values and qualifications (where required) and believe that their lived experience is an advantage, this means that together we are as diverse as the communities we care for. Simply put, when we employ caring people who act with integrity and have the right skills, we can give those with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity high-quality care and support to live fulfilling lives, and make our staff feel purposeful, happy and valued.

All our information is available in accessible formats. Please contact the Recruitment team recruitment.lypft@nhs.net

Attached to this advert is our candidates guide to values-based recruitment and supporting guidance on how to make a successful application.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Recruitment Team or see the attached candidate guide to reasonable adjustments.

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading.

So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read theCandidate Guide to Values Based Recruitment. This document provides you with information to help you apply.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Relevant core professional qualification and registrations (eg. RMN, RN (Mental Health), OT, Social Worker

Skills

Essential

The ability to organize and prioritize own workload under pressure.
Ability to undertake specialist holistic mental health, and risk, assessment with service users with complex mental health needs to formulate effective care plans, relapse prevention interventions and crisis plans.

Experience

Essential

Understanding and experience of providing clinical leadership within a multidisciplinary team.
Experience of developing effective working relationships within a multi-disciplinary team, and with partner agencies

Values

Desirable

Tell us about a time when you spotted something small going wrong and did something to stop it becoming a bigger issue.
Tell us about a time when you realised a colleague or someone you know needed a bit of support and you offered to help.
Tell us about a time when you showed someone kindness or understanding.

Skills

Desirable

Car driver desirable

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.